Green Urbanism
Green Schools
A green school, also known as a high performance school, is a community facility that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. Green schools protect occupant health, provide a productive learning environment, connect students to the natural world, increase average daily attendance, reduce operating costs, improve teacher satisfaction and retention, and reduce overall impact to the environment.
Green schools lessen the impact of building construction on the environment and set an example for future generations that environmental quality is essential to our long-term well being. They also have benefits in several key performance areas:
- Protect Student and Teacher Health - Schools designed with attention to proper ventilation, material selection, acoustical quality and other indoor environmental factors, can expect improved student and teacher health and higher attendance;
- Better Student Performance - Attention to site planning and adequate daylighting has been shown to heighten student performance by as much as 25%;
- Lower Operating Costs - Operating costs for energy and water can be reduced by 20% to 40%, allowing more money to be used for teacher salaries, textbooks and computers;
- Provide a Unique Educational Opportunity - When advanced technology and design in new schools are made visible, buildings can become teaching tools and important features of science, math, and environmental curriculum.
Get involved! To download a letter to send to school officials urging them to make your school a green school, click here.
For more information on the Green Schools Initiative or to join the Green Schools Coalition Contact Ted Bardacke.
In 2004, Global Green launched a new effort focused on K-12 schools in Southern California. This effort integrates the green building principles developed by Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) with broader neighborhood and regional issues including energy generation, stormwater management, joint-use of school facilities, and the growing movement to use school buildings as teaching tools. Although CHPS is relatively new, it is crucial that a number of districts including Los Angeles, Burbank, Santa Ana, and San Diego have adopted policies requiring CHPS for all future projects. Global Green is working to ensure that these policies are fully implemented and that other districts are aware of the benefits that CHPS and green schools provide. Thus the goals of the Initiative are to:
- Ensure complete implementation of the existing LAUSD green schools policy;
- Encourage other Southern California school districts to adopt green school policies;
- Develop state legislation to ensure that all new and modernized schools are built to CHPS minimum design standards;
- Create additional showcase schools that incorporate cutting-edge practices to educate, inform, and inspire LAUSD and other school districts;
- Create a coalition to provide a Southern California base of support for statewide green schools policies and initiatives.
What is a High Performance/Green School?
A green school, also known as a high performance school, is a community facility that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. Green schools lessen the impact of building construction on the environment and set an example for future generations that environmental quality is essential to our long-term well being. They also have benefits in several key performance areas:
- Protect Student and Teacher Health – Schools designed with attention to proper ventilation, material selection, acoustical quality and other indoor environmental factors, can expect improved student and teacher health and higher attendance;
- Better Student Performance – Attention to site planning and adequate daylighting has been shown to heighten student performance by as much as 25%;
- Lower Operating Costs – Operating costs for energy and water can be reduced by 20% to 40%, allowing more money to be used for teacher salaries, textbooks and computers;
- Provide a Unique Educational Opportunity – When advanced technology and design in new schools are made visible, buildings can become teaching tools and important features of science, math, and environmental curriculum.
In 2004, Global Green launched a new effort, The Green Schools Initiative, focused on greening K-12 schools. When Global Green expanded its effort in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, schools became a critical component of its rebuilding efforts there. The goal of this initiative is to create healthier classrooms and more energy efficient schools that in turn improve student performance and save money for school districts, while helping to protect the environment and reducing carbon emissions. The Green Schools Initiative has been made possible by a grant from the Bush Clinton Katrina Fund.
Publications
Developing Green Building Programs: A Step-By-Step Guide for Local Governments
Global Green USA’s step-by-step guidebook outlining a six-step process that local agencies can utilize to develop their own green building programs. The process was developed based on the real world experience that Global Green has gained in working with local governments to develop green building programs in cities such as, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Irvine, West Hollywood, and New Orleans.
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Healthier, Wealthier, Wiser: A Report on National Green Schools
This report outlines the significant benefits of green schools which include improved learning, reduced operating costs, and better student attendance (which translates into more dollars for school districts). In addition, it provides a green school practitioner guide, case studies, and a reference guide to draft a green school resolution. The report also offers the first overview of Global Green’s landmark green schools initiative in New Orleans made possible by a grant from the Bush Clinton Katrina Fund
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